


Double Date (Sort of)

by LightRedFox



Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/M, First Date, Fluff, Swearing, but like they don’t talk, pink team is there too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22518301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightRedFox/pseuds/LightRedFox
Summary: Mask throws Skull under the bus for the sake of his privacy, and thanks to Aloha everyone thinks he and Headphones are dating. Shenanigans ensue.Takes place before the square cup tournament, but after the preliminaries.
Relationships: Bobble/Mask (Splatoon), Headphones/Skull (Splatoon)
Kudos: 36
Collections: CoroikaCollection





	Double Date (Sort of)

**Author's Note:**

> God this fic was like. Months in the making. I made the original draft way back in maybe August, but kept working on it on and off until it became this 5,000+ word thing.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy.

“Why are we here again?” Skull asked Mask once more as they exited the train and headed into the heart of Inkopolis Square.

“I already told youuuuu. I’m meeting someoneeee.”

“I know. But why do I have to go with you?”

“It’s a secrettttt meetingggg. You need to makeeee sure no one we knowwwww sees meeeeee.”

Well, that explained the outfit. Instead of his signature gas mask, the cyan inkling wore a black beanie to cover his hair and a plain white surgical mask to hide his mouth and nose. Skull wasn’t sure what exactly made the outfit sneaky, but it sure as hell worked considering he didn't even recognize Mask when he went to the train station to meet him.

“Then why me? People recognize me way too easily.”

As they headed towards their destination, he could already hear inklings all around them whispering and murmuring some stuff along the lines of S4 and turf war while pointing fingers at him. He was used to it by now, but that didn’t make it any less odd.

“That’sssss the pointtttt. You draw attention awayyyy from meeee.” He drawled as they entered the Shoal, a popular arcade and hangout place for the youth of today. The place was packed with inklings and jellyfish, all preoccupied with whatever arcade machine was in front of them. Some weren’t even using the machines, a number of inklings simply brought their own handhelds and were currently taking up more space than necessary on the now unavailable couches. Luckily, everyone in the area was too focused on their games to pay attention to the two S rankers.

“Where is sheeee?” Mask muttered under his breath as they walked deeper into the arcade. This place had a large variety of machines, from Guitar Hero to Air Hockey. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this place had almost everything. Mask eventually noticed two inklings near a claw machine and headed straight towards them. One of them perked up when she saw Mask and ran towards him.

“Masky!” The inkling with a bobble hat and short blue hair glomped the cyan inkling, who let out a wheeze at the sudden impact.

“Heyyyy, not nowwwww Bobble.” He weakly tried to pry her off of him, to no avail.

Skull couldn’t see well thanks to the dim lighting of the area, but he now realized that the two inklings were from the Blue Team who had bested all of the S4 over a year ago. Bobble, who was currently still attached to Mask, and Headphones, who was looking awkwardly at the duo.

Bobble eventually let go of Mask, who breathed in a much needed gasp of air. He then noticed Headphones and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“Bobble, didn’t I sayyyyy to not tell anyoneeee about this?”

“She didn’t.” Headphones sighed. “In fact, she didn’t tell anyone that she was going to Inkopolis Square in the first place. We had to cancel training to look for her.”

“Of courseeeee you did.” Mask groaned. “Well, at leasttttt you’re not as annoyinggggg as the otherrrr ones.”

“Thanks?”

Mask turned to Skull, who was still patiently standing in the same place.

“We’re gonna playyyyy some games nearrrr the back so no one seesssss us. Stay near the entranceeee until we come outtttt.”

Skull shrugged. “Ok.”

He turned around and left the two where they were, intending to check out the games near the entrance when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, mind if I tag along?” Headphones asked, already trailing behind him. “I get the feeling that Mask doesn’t want me with them, and I want to give those two their privacy.”

“I don’t see why not.” She gave a smile at his answer and quickly caught up to walk next to him.

“So, why are you with Mask? I thought you guys didn’t get along.”

“He’s tolerable compared to the others. And getting me dessert when he’s done with whatever he’s doing. How about you?”

“It’s a long story. We were supposed to be training with our new weapons today, but Bobble didn’t show up by the time Goggles arrived. Naturally, we got worried.” Headphones paused for a bit, and Skull nodded his head to confirm he was still listening.

“Apparently she couldn’t say where she was, so we figured she had gotten lost somehow. We split up and spent the entire morning looking for her, and I happened to find her first.” Headphones sighed as she finished recounting the morning’s events.

“I told Specs and Goggles that we were at the Shoal, but knowing them they probably got lost too. And now here we are. I wish she told us in advance she was going on a date, we wouldn’t have pried.”

“They’re on a date?” Skull asked as he stepped out into the open, back into the busy Square.

“I’m just as surprised as you are. Before today I thought he hated her guts.”

“I guess it doesn't matter, anyway. We just need to make sure we don't run into anyone we know.” He heard loud cheering coming from the left and turned to look at the dance dance machine.

“Fuck.”

Three inklings with pink hair surrounded the machine, all wearing the same red shirts. As the song Bomb Rush Blush ended, the inkling who was playing on the machine turned to face the two inklings, a big smile on his face.

“Heyyy Skull~”

Skull groaned underneath his bandana as Aloha jumped off the platform and walked up to Skull, raising an eyebrow once he saw Headphones next to the purple inkling.

“My, oh my, the last thing I expected today was you, much less with a date!”

“Date?” Headphones said in confusion before realizing what Aloha meant. “W-Wait, it’s not like that!” She stammered, cheeks tinted a light blue.

“It’s not a date Aloha. We’re hanging out.”

Aloha just smirked. “Just the two of you? Without your teammates?”

“Bobble is here.” Headphones said quickly. “She’s just...preoccupied right now.”

“Right, of course. How convenient.” Aloha’s grin grew even wider and his teammates let out some giggles. From the corner of his eye, Skull spotted Scuba trying to secretly take his phone out. One piercing glare sent his way and the pink inkling immediately put his empty hands to the side. Aloha took notice of this and raised an eyebrow.

“Well now, we’ve bothered you enough. We’ll be taking our leave now.” He nudged his teammates and they all nodded in understanding.

“Have fun with your ‘not date’.” He winked once more at Skull before walking off with his team towards the clothing shop.

Headphones huffed in slight aggravation.

“Well, at least they didn’t go into the arcade.”

“Yeah, might be better to stay inside now that we know they’re here.” Skull took a quick glance inside, wanting to get his mind off of the encounter.

“...Wanna play some air hockey?” He suggested.

“Yeah! Sounds fun!”

xxx

CLINK!

The puck went into the small slot of the table, and the scoreboard changed to 6-7, signifying a winner. Headphones pumped her fist in victory. The small crowd of young inklings who had gathered around the air hockey table applauded the victor, before leaving to play other games.

“That was close.” Skull wiped sweat from his forehead. “You’re pretty good, blue girl.”

“I’ve got lots of practice from playing against Goggles, his reflexes are insane.”

Headphones looked around.

“Speaking of my teammates, where are they anyway? It’s been at least an hour.”

“Well ones right hereeeee.”

Mask walked towards them with Bobble skipping behind him.

“We played all the fighting games! Masky is so good at them!”

“And Bobble wasted all her moneyyyyyy trying to get stuff from the clawwwww machine.” Mask sighed.

“I got this!” She held up a small plush keychain of a cyan colored squid. “Doesn’t it look like Masky?”

“No it doesn’ttttt.”

“It looks exactly like you.” Skull commented. Headphones let out a small giggle as Mask glared at the purple inkling.

“Ughhhhh, you’re awfully talkative todayyyyy. Well whateverrrrr,” Mask checked his phone. “it’s alreadyyyy past noon, and I haven’t evennnn eaten breakfastttt.”

“You got any plans for that?”

“Bobble and I have a reservationnnnn at the restaurant a bit further back, so just don’t gooooo anywhere near there until we’re doneeee.”

“Sure thing, Masky.” Skull mocked as he rolled his eyes. Mask flipped Skull off as he walked away from them, Bobble cheerfully waving goodbye before following him. Skull’s stomach grumbled a bit.

“I guess we should grab some lunch too.” Skull pulled out two tickets. “You alright with Crusty Sean’s? My treat.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that, really. I can buy my own!” She frantically waved her hands at the purple inkling’s offer.

“It’s fine, I have lots of leftover tickets anyway. Think of it as a treat to make up for what you had to go through this morning.”

“I guess, if you insist.” She reluctantly conceded as they arrived at their destination. There was a long line of young inklings waiting in the heat of the sun to order their meals, which was expected, considering how popular Crusty Sean’s food was. Inklings couldn’t get enough of his deep fried goodness.

“I’ll go get the food.” He nodded at his companion before joining the long line. Headphones took a seat at one of the tables near the front of where the food truck would’ve been if Goggles hadn’t destroyed it a few weeks prior.

As he patiently stood underneath the sunny sky, Skull’s phone beeped. He pulled it out to see a pending call from Aviators.

“Hey.”

“Hey Skull, how’s the gig going?”

“Eh, could be worse. What are you guys doing?”

“We’re just chilling at the house. The girls put on a scary movie-”

A muffled scream came from what Skull assumed was the TV.

“The serial killer used the harpoon to stab the couple at the same time.” Stitch’s monotone voice could be heard narrating to Aviators.

“Cool. Anyway, you’re still at the Square right?”

“Yeah, you need something?”

“Could you swing by Ammo Knights and check the Nozzlenose models available? Pais told me about the one with the new Baller special, I think I could use that.”

“Maybe later, I’m having lunch right now.”

“Oh, with Mask?”

“Nah, I’m with Headphones, from the Blue team.”

“Wait, what? Just the two of you?”

“Yeah, why?” The background noise suddenly stopped, most likely signifying the movie had been paused.

“Avi, is that Skull you’re talking to?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Pass the phone for a bit, I need to talk to him.”

“Hey, Pais give me my phone back!” There was a bit of static before Paisley’s voice came through.

“Yo Skull, how’s your date going?”

“Date?” The leader asked in confusion.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell us, I guess. We won't pry if you don’t wanna spill the deets.”

“But that’s what you’re trying to do right now.”

“Shut up, Stitch; You’re curious too!”

“I still have no idea what you guys are talking about.”

“We saw Aloha’s post on Inkstagram, no need to play dumb, bro.”

“What does Aloha have to do with anything?”

“Guys, I’m still lost on what’s going on-” Avi’s voice was barely heard.

“You mean you really don’t know?”

“Ahem.”

Skull looked up to see that he had magically made it to the front of the line in a matter of minutes, with Crusty Sean patiently waiting for his order. 

“Skull? You there?” Paisley’s voice crackled from the speaker.

“We’ll talk about this later, I’ll call you back.” The purple inkling ended the call and handed the two tickets he was holding to the truck owner.

“Two Crusty Seanwhiches? Good choice.” Crusty Sean pulled out drinks and food from behind the counter, and pushed the tray towards Skull. He glanced down at the food, raising a lack of an eyebrow at the contents.

“My tickets didn’t come with fries.”

“It’s on the house. For sharing.” He winked at the purple inkling who was getting more confused by the minute. He wasn’t one to turn down free food though, and he muttered a small thank you to Sean before walking back to the table where Headphones was seated.

“Oh hey!” She looked up from her phone and smiled. “I was just messaging Goggles and Specs to come over. They were wandering around the Square, so it would be better for them to not stumble upon Mask and Bobble. You don't mind, do you?”

“I don’t.” Skull took a seat and placed the tray in front of her, taking a few fries and throwing them into his mouth, though you couldn’t tell by how quickly he did so. “Hey, do you have an Inkstagram?” He asked his companion with a muffled voice, still chewing on his food.

“Uh, yeah. Why?” 

“Can you check Aloha’s profile?” He swallowed his food before taking a big sip from his drink. “Something’s been bugging me.”

She looked confused, but tapped on the app, taking a bite from her sandwich. A few clicks later, she froze and her cheeks quickly turned blue. Skull looked over at her screen, and to his surprise, in front of him was a picture of them playing at the arcade, with a very bright pink filter and lots of heart stickers on top of it. But the caption was the cherry on top.

‘Guess who I ran into today??? Looks like Skull is a romantic after all!’

“Damn it, he must have come back to take a picture.” He cursed.

The photo already had well over 20,000 likes thanks to the pink inklings high follower count, and there were at least half as many comments that he didn't even want to imagine the contents for. His phone buzzed again and he answered the call from Paisley.

“Well? We’ve given you time to think. What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Romantic?” She said mockingly.

“He’s making stuff up, that wasn’t what it looked like at all.”

“You really think we’re buying that?” Paisley sneered.

“Skull, how long have you guys been seeing each other? This is the first I’m hearing of this.”

“Avi-”

“Dude, you were keeping this from Avi too? For shame!”

“I think you guys look cute together.” Stitch threw in.

“Not helping.” Skull hissed. He loved his teammates, but his patience on the matter was wearing thin.

“So, when are you gonna bring her over here-”

“Never, because we're not dating,” He snapped. “end of discussion.”

He clicked end call before he could hear his teammate’s protests, and let out an aggravated sigh.

“Coddammit Aloha.”

“Um, Skull…” Headphones showed him her phone, which displayed another photo of them where they were currently seated, the picture somehow being even more pink than the last. He jerked his head up and spotted blurs of pink turning the corner and vanishing from view.

“I’m kicking their ass next match with them.” His fist clenched up around his phone.

“I wanna kick ass too!”

A blue blur that wasn’t Sonic ran up to the pair and nearly collided with the table, only being halted suddenly by Specs grabbing onto him at the last second, causing them both to crash into the table next to them. Good for Skull and Headphones, bad for the poor inkling who’s food went flying into the air and landed on the ground.

“I am so, so sorry about my friend.” Specs got up quickly and bowed in front of the very angry inkling that was now telling him off.

Goggles got up in a daze but quickly shook it off to smile at the duo.

“Hey Skull! Hey Headphones!”

“Hey.” Skull waved at the blue inkling, Headphones too busy burying her head in her hands to reply to the greeting.

“I didn’t know you were gonna be here,” He grinned at the purple inkling. “if I did I would’ve skipped practice too!”

“Goggles, don’t be rude!” Specs turned his head momentarily to snap at his friend. “They’re on a date! We only came here to update Headphones on the Bobble situation!”

“Wait, date? Specs, you too?!” Headphones looked at her team leader in disbelief.

“We ran into the Pink Team a while ago, and they pointed us to your location, as well as informed us on what you were doing.”

“Oh, right! Now I remember! My bad!” Goggles rubbed his head sheepishly, laughing off his bad memory.

“I cannot believe you two!” She tried to say in a serious tone, but the big blue blush on her face didn’t help her.

Specs gave Headphones a look, light reflecting off his glasses. “For the record, I’m disappointed you didn’t tell us about this earlier, but I’m willing to talk about it at a later time. We think Bobble may be close by.”

“Oh fuck, did they see her and Mask?” He asked a bit too loudly.

“SKULL!” She cried out in alarm, the person in question widening his eyes at the slip.

“Wait, squit-”

“Mask?” Goggles asked, tilting his head a bit.

“You know where she is?!” Specs yelled, eyes about to pop out of his sockets.

“YOU TWO!” An angry voice came from the truck, and all people within hearing range turned to look at the furious Crusty Sean stomping towards the four of them.

“I think we should leave.” Skull whispered to his companion, the girl nodding her head in agreement as they took their food and quickly exited the scene.

“Wait! Don’t leave!” Specs yelled, about to chase after them before being grabbed and lifted up by the collar of his shirt by a large red claw, the same being done to Goggles.

“Headphones, you have got a lot of explaining to do.” He grumbled to himself as he watched the two disappear into the busy Square.

xxx

“You tolddddd them we were hereeeee?!?!” Mask glared daggers at Skull, the four having met up near Deca Tower, far away from Crusty Sean’s spot.

“I didn’t mean to, it just slipped out.”

“Just slipped outtttt??? What a load of carpppp!”

“Guys, stop fighting.” Headphones snapped at the two S+ rankers. “Skull didn’t mean to, ok?”

The cyan inkling gave an angry huff. “Whateverrrrr. Can you two leaveeeee now?”

“Ah squit, I completely forgot; I need to get Avi the new Nozzlenose model.” Skull cursed, suddenly remembering his friend’s request.

“Fineeeee then, you go do thattttt, and we’ll be far, farrrr away from you-”

“Can we look at the weapons too, Masky?” Bobble asked, clinging to his arm. He looked taken aback, but her question was completely serious. He sighed in defeat.

“...Okay.”

“What happened to far, far away?” Skull rolled his eyes.

“Oh, shut uppppp.”

xxx

“Are you sureeeee there’s no one you recognizeeee in thereeee? Like Army, or-”

“Mask, the store is empty.” Headphones gave an irritated sigh as they entered the semi-newly relocated Ammo Knights.

“Why do you care so much if someone sees you, anyway?”

“I don’t wantttttt the attentionnnnnn.”

“Is that it, or do you just not want people to know that you have a girlfriend?”

Mask glared at the blue inkling, his face tinted with a deep blue. “Shut up.”

“Hello and welcome to Ammo Knights! The only weapons store with over 100 years of service!” Shelldon popped out of his shell (or hat? idk) to greet the inklings. “What can I help you with today?”

“I wanna try this one out!” Bobble tugged on Mask’s sleeve and pointed at a Tri-Slosher hanging on the wall.

“Ah yes, the Tri-Slosher! It’s a Slosher-type weapon that lobs ink in three directions in front of you at once! Since the ink is being split in three, it does reduce the attack power slightly, but if you follow up with a-”

“How about we just try it out?” Mask quickly interrupted the horseshoe crab and pulled Bobble towards the back door, saving them from a lengthy explanation. “There’s a testing area for the weapons back here.”

While the two inklings went into the testing area, Skull carefully examined the chargers that were against a rack near the counter. Specifically, the E-Liters.

“Are you interested in buying a charger?” Headphones walked towards him to see what he was examining.

“I already got one last time I came here. Just checking the newer stuff.”

He bent down to check the names, eyes focusing on a name tag that caught his eye.

“Custom version, huh?” 

“Can I see?”

She bent down next to him and looked at the short description underneath the name and price.

“Wow, the range on this is amazing! Not too sure about the scope, though.”

“My old charger didn’t come with a scope, so it’s a bit new to me, too. Figured I’d try it out.” He glanced over at her face, which was now piqued in interest. “Want to give it a go?”

“Really? Are you serious?” She looked a bit taken aback, but the serious expression on his face and lack of a reply was enough of an answer.

“A-Alright, I guess?”

Skull carefully lifted up the model on display and was about to hand it to her when suddenly Sheldon jumped in between them to snatch the charger from his hands.

“So sorry, but your friend here isn’t fresh enough to wield this weapon. It’s store policy; Hope you understand.”

Headphones looked a bit disappointed, but Skull had a menacing aura surround him as he glared at Sheldon.

“Does it make a difference whether or not she’s fresh? She’s skilled enough to be able to use it, I know that.”

“Ah, n-not that I’m doubting her skills, it’s just-” Skull’s glare got more intense, and the store owner started shaking in his boots.

“W-well, I’m not allowed to sell it to her, but I guess you could try it out.”

“Good.” Skull took the weapon back and placed it firmly into Headphone’s hands. The two then walked towards the training area in the back.

“You didn’t have to do that for me, you know.” She sighed as they entered a room completely covered in blue ink, the source of which was Bobble throwing out ink blobs while continuously spinning in a circle, Mask watching from a safe distance.

“I know, but wanted to.” They walked up to a further area still somewhat free from ink, and positioned themselves far away from the practice targets moving horizontally at varying speeds.

“I’m sure you already know this, but what you want to do is always keep your distance from your target. That rule especially applies to E-Liters. It’s got long range, but takes a while to charge up; Bad mobility too.”

“Yeah, this is pretty heavy.” Headphones tried to adjust her body to a more comfortable position before Skull helped her out, moving her arms to the correct places with his hands. She flushed at the contact.

“Scopes are good for one target, bad for looking out for other opponents. If you lose sight of your target, don't hold the shot; Fire it quickly and charge up another.”

She nodded in understanding as she fired a few practice shots, the targets popping one by one. Occasionally she’d fly back a few steps from the recoil of the shots, and Skull would hold her shoulders steady, not noticing the growing blush on her face the longer he kept his hands on her. A few well aimed shots later, Headphones’ hair glowed a deep blue, signifying her special was ready.

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried this special, even on other weapons.”

“The bubbler?” He recalled the special’s name from the description on the tag. “I haven’t personally used before. Guess there’s no harm in trying it out.”

She activated the special, and pulled out a giant bubble blower from thin air. She waved the blower around a bit, and made four giant blue ink bubbles come out of it, the seemingly harmless things bouncing along the ground.

“That doesn't seem too interesting…” Skull began. At that moment, Bobble threw ink in the direction of a bubble, which then exploded into a giant puddle of ink right in front of Mask, causing him to get splatted.

“....Huh, not bad at all actually.” Skull chuckled as Mask’s ghost glared at him angrily.

“Ughhhh.” Mask floated away out of the training room, seemingly towards the nearest respawn point.

“Well, that’s enough practice for today I suppose. The nearest spawn point is outside the store. Guess we better meet him there.” He picked up the charger and walked back inside with Headphones and Bobble, the latter returning the Slosher and saying a small thank you to Sheldon before skipping out of the store, supposedly to find her splatted boyfriend.

“D-Did you like how the Custom worked?” The store owner asked, freezing up a bit at seeing the purple inkling again.

“Yeah, I’ll take this one.” Skull paused. “Also the L-3 Nozzlenose with the Baller. Almost forgot again.”

“Wait, you’re gonna buy that?” Headphones asked in slight confusion. “Didn’t you say you already owned a newer model?”

“This one is for you.” He replied, taking out a credit card from his wallet as Sheldon brought over a Nozzlenose to the counter.

“W-Wait, slow down!” Headphones looked shocked. “I liked how it worked, but that’s way too expensive! I can’t just accept it-”

“It’s fine.” He responded gruffly, putting the card back into his wallet. “I have enough money.”

Sheldon handed Skull his newly purchased weapons and waved them off as they walked out back into the Square, Headphones still trying to wrap her head around what just happened.

“Here.” He held out the large weapon for the girl to take. When she didn’t budge, he slowly lowered it from his hands.

“Is something wrong?” The blue inkling struggled to find the words to answer his question.

“....Why are you spending so much on me?” She finally blurted out, all her thoughts throughout the day condensing into a single small question. It took him a moment to process her words.

“Do you not like it?” He tilted his head.

“Well it’s just-I’m not even supposed to be here,” She began rambling, fidgeting around while avoiding eye contact. “us meeting here was by chance, but you still played games with me, treated me to lunch and now buy me a brand new weapon. It’s just out of nowhere. I feel like I don’t deserve it.”

“Don’t say that.” He said, voice softer than usual. They were both silent for a few moments, the two of them standing next to each other, yet not making eye contact. Despite being in the middle of the bustling Square, the silence between them was deafening.

“I’m doing this because...I want to make it up to you.” Skull finally broke the silence.

“What?” 

“When we first fought on Moray...I said some things I was wrong about. Even when I realized it later, I never apologized to you or your team.” He stared down at the ground. “I’m not the best at words, so I figured buying you things would be enough to make it up to you.”

“Skull….” A soft smile formed on her lips. “That was so long ago! Is that really what this was all about?”

“Yeah….I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” He scratched the back of his head. “Aloha is always giving gifts to girls, so I thought that was what I should do. I guess I was wrong; You don’t seem to want it.”

“To be fair, I’m pretty sure he buys them flowers and chocolates, not turfing weapons.” She giggled at him. He couldn’t help but chuckle as well. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

He shifted said weapon onto his shoulder, patting its ink tank and making it release loud metallic sounds that echoed slightly.

“I’m still serious about this being for you, though. Even if you don’t want it right now, I’ll hold onto it until you do; That’s a promise.”

“Well, you did go out of your way to show me how it works, but like Sheldon said, I’m not allowed to use it just yet.” 

“I’ll start ranking up, and when I’m ready I’ll gladly take it. That’s a promise too, I swear it.” She gave him a determined smile, and he returned it, albeit a hidden one.

xxx

“Finallyyyyy, some silenceeee.” Mask sighed in relief as they entered the coffee shop located next to Deca Tower. After he had respawned and found Bobble, the two of them met back up with Skull and Headphones. The day was nearly over, with the sun already a deep orange and slowly sinking down past the clouds.

Mask still owed Skull his payment for the day, and he chose to receive it at this cafe. A tall lanky man with giant purple spikes for hair stood up from his seat and laptop to walk over to the four inklings who had just entered the premises.

“Huh, so thisssss is where you vanishedddd to, Spykeeeee.” Mask said, looking him up and down.

“Yep, got enough money from my...job, and now this place is all mine. Perfect spot for relaxation and...deals, if you come after the sun sets. Even got some young entrepreneurs helping out too. If you get what I mean.” He chuckled, but the glimmer in his eyes never faded.

“Enough about me. What’ll it be, love?”

“I’ll take an extra extra large sundae-”

“What the-when I saiddddd I’d get you desserttttt I meant like a cuppppp, not a fuckinggggg gallon!”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before agreeing to it.”

“Fineeeee, I hope you get a strokeeeee from eating all that sugar and dieeeee.”

“....with extra toppings and ice cream.”

“Got it.” The urchin ignored the groan of the masked inkling. “And for your friends?”

“Just waterrrrr.” Mask mumbled.

“I want bubble tea!”

“Erm, I’ll have water too.”

“Alright then, give my workers a few minutes to get your orders ready.” He gave a mock bow before snapping his fingers at the jellyfish behind the counter. They nodded in understanding and dashed into the back.

“I’m sure you know this place is pay as you order. Now, for the cost...it’s quite a bit, but here’s a special offer. One Super Sea Snail to pay for everything. Quite a steal, wouldn’t you say, love?”

“Nice tryyyyyy, Spyke.” Mask rolled his eyes. “I knowwwwww how valuable thoseeeee things are, especially to youuuuu.”

Spyke chuckled. “Smart one. But don’t expect your bill to be any less. Now cough up.”

Mask grumbled something along the lines of never bringing Skull out again before handing Spyke a large amount of money. He slid it all into his pocket and went back to his seat at the window, typing something into his laptop and sipping coffee.

Mask sat down at the table furthest away from where Skull and Headphones were seated, and they took it as a sign that he did not want to talk to either of them. Not that any of them really minded. A few minutes later, a jellyfish brought over the giant sundae to their table, Skull lifting up the glass container with a thanks after noticing them struggling to place it on the high surface.

“Wow, that’s a lot of ice cream.” She stared at it amazed as the purple inkling began to wolf down on the sugary treat.

“You want some?” He offered a spoon to her, but she swore the contents were already halfway eaten.

“No thanks, I know you want to finish it.” He nodded and in a few more minutes he finished the contents with a satisfactory burp, chugging down his glass of water right after.

“Hey, Headphones.” He looked at her, and she glanced up from her phone at the mention of her name.

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering...do you want to do this again sometime?”

“I don’t think covering for Bobble is something I feel like doing again; It was exhausting.”

“No, not that. I meant like go to the arcade, grab a snack, go shopping. Y’know, together, without Mask or anyone else.” She didn’t say anything yet, so he continued his train of thought.

“Even with Aloha and the others poking into our business, I still had a lot of fun. I want to do it all again, with you.”

“....You mean like a date?”

“If you want it to be.”

The blue inkling paused, and for a moment Skull feared the worst. But Headphones smiled back at him, cheeks slightly tinted blue.

“I’d love to spend more time with you, Skull.”

Only she could see it, but his eyes lit up in joy at the reply.

xxx

Mask rolled his eyes at the two inklings sitting far away from them, laughing and having a grand time talking to each other. 

A poke to his cheek made him turn to look at the blue inkling in front of him. She held out a cup full of bubble tea, shaking it slightly in front of him.

“Do you want some, Masky?”

He let out a sigh. “No, it’s fineeeee.” He lowered the mask he was wearing to sip from his glass of water. Bobble continued to stare at him (with her closed eyes. Yes.)

“Why are youuuuu looking at me like thattttt?”

“Did you not like today?”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“You didn’t smile at all today, and kept getting mad at them.” Her smile was still on her face, but it didn’t seem as natural, and her eyebrows were lowered.

‘Mask you are a fucking idiot, making her worry like that.’ He yelled at himself internally.

“...I had funnnn, Bobble. I just got a bitttt irritated with Skulllll.” He hesitantly placed his hand on top of hers. “It’s not your faultttt. I shouldn’t have madeeee him come in the firstttt place.”

“Oh, okay! I’m glad then!” She leaned in close to peck him on the cheek, eyebrows raised in happiness. His face lit up in blue, and because his face was uncovered, she was able to see him give a soft smile back.

Today wasn’t bad at all.


End file.
